I agree, and I also found the "no rollover" rule in Germany quite helpful. You have your very nice vacation allotment and you must take it or you will lose it

I agree, and I also found the "no rollover" rule in Germany quite helpful. You have your very nice vacation allotment and you must take it or you will lose it and your manager may get a talking-to. In many companies you are even required to take at least two vacations of at least one week each in any given year: the whole point of the vacation is to prevent you burning out.